User Reviews

When a child goes missing from a pre-school in Ystad suspicion falls on a recently released paedophile who lives with his mother near the scene of the disappearance. Kurt Wallander is not convinced that he is responsible believing that the young woman who was meant to be supervising the children didn't tell the truth when she was interviewed. When the young boy's body is found in the sea tensions rise as other parents demand to know what is being done and after learning about the paedophile they take things into their own hands with tragic consequences.

This was a good episode with some nice red herrings and while the solution to the crime wasn't a total surprise it was a satisfying conclusion to the mystery of the boy's death. It would have been nice to have seen the vigilantes brought to justice but the fact that they weren't successfully added to the downbeat feeling of the episode.

As the story begins, we see a man looking intently to a group of children playing in what appears to be a school yard. When young Albin, a six year old boy we have seen running around disappears, the worst is feared. Wallander and his team are called to the Landbergs' home to begin the investigation. There is a bigger brother, Viktor, who stays in the background as the police interviewed the worried parents, who seems to know more about his brother's disappearance, but who never says a word.

Trying to figure what is going on, Martinsson stumbles on a recently released pedophile, Greger Frankman, the mysterious man we saw watching the children at their playground. He lives with his mother in a modest home in the center of town. Frankman becomes defensive, as he claims his innocence and having anything to do with the disappearance. His mother Signe, watches as Greger goes into a sort of storage place, maybe a garage across from the house, where strobe lights seem to be busy in a photographic session.

As Martinsson leaves the Frankman home, he runs into Lars Persson, who is puzzled by the presence of the police at his neighbors' place. Lars figures there is something he is not being told. Doing a little research, Lars realizes the police has an interest in his neighbor. He is instrumental in creating a panic among the young children's parents who now see the dangers of having Frankman living so close to them.

When the body of Albin turns up floating near some rocks in the waterfront, Wallander and his team do not have a clue as to how to proceed. Helena and Anders Landberg, the grieving parents, in talking to Wallander reveal that Viktor was adopted a few years before she finally became pregnant with Albin. Viktor has always been a problem child, whereas Albin was a happy boy that never gave them any trouble.

Lars Persson is instrumental to gather a small posse of followers that begin to taunt Greger Frankman. First they paint slurs about his condition on a wall next to his home. Later, they come with stones intended to harm the pedophile. They only succeed in killing Signe Frankman who dies from one big rock thrown to her head. A grieving Greger cannot take it anymore, deciding to end his life.

The forensic examiner determines young Albin was dead before he went into the water. In fact, the boy died of an overdose of some kind of medical substance, something that make them think that Anders, the father, who works for a pharmaceutical company has something to do with Albin's tragic death. The surprising finale comes when the real culprit of Albin's death is known, something that leaves Wallander and the police quite stunned.

Leif Magnusson directed the episode written by Pernilla Oljelund, a frequent contributor to the series. There are a couple of themes that are explored in this chapter. First is the question whether a pedophile that has tried to rehabilitate himself can still commit a heinous act such as the killing of a six year old boy. The other idea is how an irresponsible man like Lars can incite a vigilante mob to deal with what they perceive as a threat to their community. There is also a question of how can the police do an effective job in interviewing small children without exaggerating, or making them scared of telling what they perhaps know, but cannot verbalize it.

Mr. Magnusson keeps things moving at a quick pace with this episode, getting good results from the regular cast and the guests that are asked to impersonate the residents of Ystad.